The Hunter
by Nyaysae
Summary: A young troll girl finds herself facing an unbelievable challenge. Her adventure begins in search of herself but then turns into something she had never dreamed of.
1. The Dream

Chapter I

It's not like it was a strange day, it just felt…different. I had woken with a start. My breath was fast and my eyes were open wide, pupils dilated, looking for any source of danger. I sat up in bed and looked around my room. It was dark except for the faint glow from a burning torch that was mounted on the cave wall. It was casting eerie, flickering shadows all around the room. I rubbed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I had been having that dream very frequently nowadays. I only got short glimpses of it…until now.

More often than not, my dreams would consist of flashes of a dark, wasted land where corpses were swarming out of the ground and a town lay in ruins. If that wasn't bad enough, I also dreamed of massive creatures whose skins looked they had been sewn together, forging long broad swords that glowed a bright blue and had almost tribal-like markings carved into them. Usually the dreams were inaudible, just dark and filled with ghastly images, but this dream had been the worst of all.

I could feel myself floating in mid air over a large pit, and in that pit stood prisoners of many different races chained up, wearing ragged clothing, moaning and calling for help. A few were crumpled in motionless piles like unwanted toys. I couldn't help but stare as I watched a mysterious hooded figure walk down the steps and into the pit. Their boots made a metallic echo as they walked across the stone floor. They pointed to one of the chained prisoners−a female troll like me. Instantly the chains dropped from the troll and she fell to her knees. The one in the hood continued to keep their arm out straight; they made an upward motion and the troll was hoisted to her feet. She staggered to stand straight as if it pained her to do so. She lifted her head slightly to look at the strange person standing in front of her. Just then they pushed away one side of their cloak to reveal a blade similar to the ones I had previously dreamed about. This person was going to fight an injured and unarmed troll?! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I tried to look away but couldn't. The blade made a sharp sound as it was unsheathed. Its wielder held it with two hands in front of their body.

"No…please…" I heard the troll woman whisper. There were also shouts of "you monster!" and "get away from her!" from the other prisoners.

I blinked and in the next second the blade had pierced right through the troll's stomach. She was holding on to the hilt of the sword as if she had the strength to pull it out of her. The hooded murderer quickly pulled their weapon from their victim, pushed aside their cloak again, and slid the sword back into its sheath. Not a speck of blood could be found on the blade. The captives fell silent. The female troll collapsed to the ground and the cloaked killer turned and walked out of the pit without even looking back.

I began to feel my dream fade. I was floating higher and higher as the world seemed to be closing in on me until everything went black. That's when I shot out of bed. I couldn't believe what I had witnessed. How could I make something like that up?

I lay back down and pulled my boar skin blanket closer to me. I closed my eyes trying to shake the images of that horrible nightmare from my head. How could I even think such bad thoughts? For, when I woke up in the morning, it would be my birthday.


	2. The Quest

Chapter II

"Zulshi…wake up." It was my mother. She had her hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off and turned over to go back to sleep. I felt a cold breeze as she tugged the blanket from me, leaving me curled up on my bed without a cover. I sighed and laughed to myself.

"Good mornin' to you too mum," I said as I sat up and stretched. She sat down next to me on the edge of my bed. I wanted to tell her about my dream but when I looked over to her she had on the biggest grin I had ever seen on her face and I didn't want to spoil that. Her tusks stuck out more than usual when she smiled.

I found her as one of the prettier trolls in our village. She had light blue skin, a smooth, round face, two medium-sized tusks sticking up from out of her jaw, big, shining dark orange eyes, and dark blue hair. I was glad I inherited most of her traits because I couldn't imagine life without my hair. It was what made me me. My mom had always taught me how to put it in a perfect triple mohawk and two pairs of braids−unlike the other girls who usually had their hair in high ponytails that flared out at the end like a palm tree. She had always said it was a part of our tradition from our tribe.

I had grown up in The Den. It was all I knew. My mother had told me many times the story of how the orcs had saved the trolls from rampaging murlocs. That's how the trolls ended up here in Durotar. Here in the Valley of Trials we share this burrow nestled in the side of the mountain with the orcs. I'm not complaining, they can be a highly regarded race, it's just their brutish ways can catch you off guard. The orcs have strong features, even the women, green skin, and even have tusks like us. Although we trolls are taller and leaner than them, we could never come close to the power the orcs have with an axe. They were made to be warriors.

Anyway, my mom patted my hand as she got up.

"Wait here." She said. She pushed the boar's skin–that I had used for my door–to the side as she walked through. When she came back in she was holding a long package wrapped in red and white striped paper with a red bow on top.

"Happy birthday!" She smiled as she handed the gift to me and sat down again.

I stared at it and ran my hand along the edge, just feeling the smooth paper. I couldn't help but smile.

"What joo waitin' for? Open it up!" my mom said impatiently, almost like it was her own present.

So I did. I slowly untied the bow and ripped the paper to shreds. And what I found inside made my heart jump a mile. It was a polished short bow and five arrows. I picked it up as if it was made of gold. I had never owned my own bow before.

"I…I dunno what ta say," I managed to state. I looked over at my mom with a huge smile on my face. She hugged me and I returned the hug with one free hand.

"You're welcome my dear. I knew you'd love it." I have the best mom ever. "Now come on we've gotta say g'mornin ta da others."

"I'll be with ya in a sec." I said. She nodded, hugged me again, and walked out of the room. I placed my new bow gently on my bed as I pulled on a plain shirt and ripped cloth shorts, leaving my feet bare. I grabbed my linen bag, slung it over my shoulder, and placed my arrows inside like a makeshift quiver. I also picked up my worn battleaxe; a good friend of me and my mum, Kaltunk, had given it to me a while back to help rid our cave of some unwanted vile familiars who had snuck in one night. He said I used it like a pro and that I could keep it.

I walked out of my room and into the bustling corridor. Orcs and trolls were hurrying about their business carrying weapons or food or armor. I saw one orc carrying a dull silver platter of fruit. I plucked an apple off the plate and took a bite into it. The orc gave a shout but I had already passed him. I laughed to myself, enjoying my breakfast.

The torches that burned on the wall sprayed dancing light in every direction warming the cave to an almost unbearable level. I pushed my way through the bustle of orcs and trolls and finally made it to the entrance. Fresh air.

My mother was waiting there for me, casually talking to Kaltunk in front of a huge fire that was burning in the middle of the village. The two of them noticed me and beckoned for me to join them.

The sun was just peaking over the mountain range casting its rays down into the valley. It was somewhat cool but I knew once that sun got up further it would start to heat up. The sky was speckled with dust colored clouds that turned orange from the sunlight. I breathed in the morning air and proceeded to meet my mother.

Kaltunk was wearing a light leather vest with matching pants and a black metal belt. My mom had on some light leather armor, the kind she wears on an everyday basis when she isn't out hunting.

"Well happy birthday young one," Kaltunk said in his deep, gruff, voice.

"Tank you sir," I replied happily.

"Very nice weapon you got there." He pointed to my bow and folded his arms. "About time you got somethin' that fit you."

"It was a gift from me mum." He smiled and nodded with approval.

That's when my mom stepped in, "It's time for joo to put it ta good use."

I was curious. What kind of good use?

"Right," Kaltunk grumbled. "The Horde is always looking for new recruits."

"Recruits?" I wasn't starting to like this. I began fiddling with the string on my short bow.

"You got that right!" He gave a deep bellied laugh. "The reason we've come to you today, young one, is so you can begin you're training to prepare for your quest."

"…quest?" This was all so sudden. "You mean…I have ta leave here?"

"Don't you worry 'bout it hun. It won't be 'til afta' ya trainin'," my mom said sweetly.

"But…what do I to do anyway? What kinda quest?" I was still very confused.

"Well now, that's up to you. We'll talk more 'bout that later," Kaltunk said. "First off you're gonna need to talk with Gornek. He'll be helpful in your training."

I knew who Gornek was but I had never really gotten to talk to him much. He was another orc who I saw working a lot in The Den. He never really seemed like he had time to chat so I figured I'd make it quick.

My mom made a quick gesture with her chin to the mouth of the cave. I looked at her and signed. There was Gornek standing with a hand on his hip and pointing out directions for a few of the orcs with the other. I started to slowly make my way over to him.

"Oy!" he called to me as I got closer. Once I was standing beside him I asked if he had a second to spare.

"I sure do…Off with you lot! You've got work to do!" He turned to me. "Sorry bout that. Damn lazy peons…Now anyway, what is it that you need?"

Gornek was a large burly orc. He had on about the same outfit as Kaltunk: a leather vest and matching pants, but Gornek had on metal bracers and large boots. You could tell he was a hard working man. His shoulders were broad and his muscles rippled under his bright green skin as he stretched.

"Umm," I started. "I've been uh, recruited or someting and I…" But I was interrupted.

"AHHH!" Gornek smiled. "Good ol' Kaltunk sent you to me, eh? Well I can make you a proud warrior of the Horde in no time!"

I had to think. Was this what I really wanted? To be a fighter for my faction? I guess there was some pride in that. But really, did I have a choice? I was being thrown head first into this. I mean, I'd always wanted to be a hunter, and now that I had my bow I had to perfect my skills somehow. Plus this would give me a great chance to start my own adventure in this world…yeah an adventure! I'd get to see all the different places and regions and people and cities and monsters. Yeah…I was up for it.

"I'll do et," I held my head up high. "What do I 'ave to do?"

He was shocked at my response and my willingness to get started. "Well," he grumbled. "Your first order of business will be to put a little strength in your backbone! That means for you to go out there and kill eight mottled boars. No wastin' meat now, I want you to bring them back here!"

I nodded in agreement. Then I stopped. I had only five arrows. I had to be careful on this quest. I knew exactly where I'd find those overgrown pigs. You could find hundreds of them off over the valley. Finding them was no problem, killing them was the challenge.


	3. The Purpose

Chapter III

I decided to head right out for my quest. It didn't seem that hard to me. My mom had taken me hunting with her a bunch of times and it looked easy enough, I thought to myself.

I started off walking by a few venders and the village cook. They were shaded from the sun under a thick leather canopy held up with four wooden poles. As I walked past a few guards who stood at the entrance to our camp I spotted my first prey. It was a fairly large mottled boar who was sniffing and pawing at the ground with its hoof. It was sniffing and grunting, minding its own business and didn't seem to notice my approach. I couldn't have been more than 30 feet from the beast when I knocked my first arrow. I pulled it quickly from my backpack and placed it in its notch on my short bow. I was shaky at first, trying to get a good grip on my bow and arrow at the same time. I did exactly as I had seen my mother do. I pulled it back–which, to my surprise, wasn't as hard as I anticipated–, held the arrow in place as I aimed, and let it go.

As soon as I did I felt a stinging sensation on my wrist. I ignored it for the time being and watched embarrassingly as the arrow clipped the boar's ear and ran across its back. Dang it. The boar squealed in pain as blood dripped from the newly formed gash in its back. Now I had just made it angry. It was beginning to stamp its hoofs into the ground getting ready to charge. I took another arrow from my back and began to nock it. But it was too late. The boar had begun to dash straight for me. It plowed into my legs knocking me to the ground. I dropped my short bow and quickly grabbed my axe. This thing was angry and would maul me if I didn't kill it soon. It stood by my feet swinging and ramming its tusks into my calves. That was going to leave a mark. I lifted my axe and made one swift slash at its neck. It let out an ear piercing squeal then froze…and toppled over. Yes! I had done it!

I staggered to my feet inspecting my wounds. There were fresh new purple and green burses forming on my legs along with a few shallow cuts. Then I looked at my wrist. The stinging hadn't stopped. Blood was trickling from a scrape that looked as if it had been rubbed raw. Ow. I rummaged through my bag and took out some bandages my mom had packed me. I wrapped my wrist in the clean linen. After that I picked up my belongings, fetched the arrow I had shot at the boar, and placed them back in my bag. Next was to bring my kill back to camp. I had hoped no one saw my fail shot, seeing as I wasn't that far from home to start with. I grabbed the boar by its hind legs and dragged it back to The Den. It only weighed about as much as a small child but when I got back to Gronek I was worn-out. How was I going to do this seven more times?!

"Haha! Good job young one," Gronek called to me as he saw me enter the village. Once I got to him I handed him the boar. He lifted it up and examined it, scratching at his beard. "This will do," he said, handing it to one of the other men. "Have Galgar prepare this. Tell him there will be more where that came from." He turned back to me. "Great job on your part. But you gotta watch out for that bow string." He pointed to my wrist which was now starting to soak through with blood. How did he guess? "I've got just the thing." He reached into his pocket and took out a pair of thin leather bracers. He handed them to me. I thanked Gronek greatly and strapped them on. I was starting to feel more like a real hunter by the second. They were small but covered my wrists nicely. My morale was boosted and so I headed out for another kill.

My task seemed to get easier with every kill. My aim was getting better and I was sustaining fewer injuries. I began to feel the rush, the excitement of letting an arrow fly. I had gotten a great deal better–and sweatier–by the sixth or seventh boar. I could even take one down in as few as one or two shots. If I didn't get it with the first two arrows I'd get it with a swipe to the neck with my axe.

It was midday by the time I had completed my first quest. I was hungry and really needed a rest. Galgar, the cook, had prepared ribs and jerky for everyone from all the meat I had acquired. He had boiled it in special spices and then roasted it over his cooking fire. It was exactly what I needed. My mother had waited for me outside the entrance to The Den. She congratulated me, hugging me and telling me I was growing up and how proud she was of me and blah blah blah, you know how parents are. Anyway, she handed me a dull silver platter to fill with food from Galgar, she also handed me a few copper pieces to tip him with.

Galgar's pavilion was like any of the others that encircled the raised bonfire we had in the center of our camp. The pavilion had a high canopy made from boar skins with exotic rugs covering the ground under it. In the center was a round cooking table with a small fire in the middle with a grate over it. To the right of that and a little outside of the tent was a large pot set over a fire contained by a few small stones. Three orcs managed this tent: Zlagk the butcher, Duokna the vender, and of course Galgar. I could already feel the heat from the fires as I walked over to them. It must be a really hard job to tolerate in this kind of weather. Zlagk gave me a wink as I stepped into the tent. He was hacking at a fresh piece of meat at his own table with a cleaver. I winced slightly.

"Well hey there!" Galgar grumbled as he stepped away from stirring his pot.

"Uh…" I started. "There be any of dat boar meat ready yet?"

"Ahhrr course there is! It's only right for the supplier of the meal to have the first helping."

So with a toothy–well in his case, tusky–grin he turned towards the fire and with his knife, stabbed a fairly large slice of streaming meat and plopped it down on my dish. I thanked him and handed him the copper pieces. The aroma of my dinner was intoxicating. The sweet smell of the spices and cooked pork wafted all around me. My mouth began to water. Who knew if this delicious serving of food would even make it back to my mother. I bowed slightly to Galgar in thanks and headed back to my mom. But this was not without another fleeting look from Zalgak. This time I decided to return his glance with a sudden dirty look of my own. And all the way back to where my mom had been waiting, I was laughing to myself.

We took our plate and sat by the roaring bonfire. Although it was quite hot, it was a great place to rest. I set the platter down between us and we picked at the food with our fingers. Apparently the bonfire is a great place for mothers to have mother-to-daughter talks as well.

"Zulshi," my mother began.

"Yea mum?"

"There be sum'tin I be wantin' to talk to joo about."

"Any tin' mum. I be all ears."

"Well, it be about cha quest," She paused and looked at me with her loving orange eyes. Then she stared at the fire and continued. "I be worried. Joo need ta have a purpose, ya'know? Joo need ta set out for a reason. Do ya…have ya reason?" Then she looked back at me. I picked up another piece of meat and ate it before responding. I needed time to think.

"Yea…I tink I do." I didn't think. I knew. And what I didn't realize was that I knew almost my whole life.

"Ya do?" She looked shocked and relieved at the same time. I was happy to see that. I didn't want to make her worry more than she needed too. But then again, that's what mothers do.

"Yea mum I do." I stretched my arms behind my head and smiled like I didn't have a care in the world and sighed. She chuckled at this. Then she ran her hands through my hair holding my head with one hand. She smiled so sweetly at me. I could almost see the pain in her eyes from the fact that I would be leaving. "Don't joo worry mum," I put my hand on hers and smiled widely. "I know what I gotta do. I might not be able to tell joo right dis second, but joo'll know soon enough."

"But why can't joo tell me it now?"

"I want ta mum, but I need ta keep it to meself until I know more about it."

She blinked, probably at how complicated I was making her simple question. I wanted to say more but at the time I didn't think she would understand. Most of all I didn't know how to tell her. I wanted to find out about my life. I already knew for a fact that this wasn't where we belonged. I also know I wasn't raised around orcs because of how different my accent is from theirs. I wanted my quest to be to find my origin…my tribe. I wanted to find my father.


	4. The Training

Chapter IV

The next day was one of the most fun days I have ever had. I spent most of the day with Jen'shan the hunter trainer−apparently she had taught my mother all she knows about hunting. I had always wanted to get to know her better, seeing as she taught exactly what I aspired to be. Although she had an intimidating and stern face she was really cool when you got to know her. She was a troll just like me. She had light purple skin and kept her electric blue hair in three long braids. Her dark colored clothing contained many buckles and straps–I really liked her style–and she always kept her hunting knife at hand.

That morning Gronek had asked me to go on another quick quest for him (which in my opinion was more like a favor). I was to collect a bunch of cactus apples to give to Galgar so he could make his famous Cactus Apple Surprise. Yummy. Anyway, I was probably eating more apples than I was carrying back to the village. So, once Galgar had told me I picked enough I headed back to Gronek who just so happened to have a message for me. It was from Jen'shan. My guess was that she had heard all the commotion about me preparing for an adventure so she wanted to offer me her help. I was pretty excited about that so I hurried over to her pavilion right away.

When I got there she was talking with the orc warrior trainer. I didn't want to interrupt but she cut her conversation short as soon as she saw me.

"I take it joo got me message," she gave me what I thought was a smile so I smiled back.

"Ya I did. Wha cha want me for?"

"Wha kinda question is dat?!" I was startled by her outburst but soon realized she wasn't really angry she was just shocked.

"I uhh…" I tried to speak up but was too taken aback by how outgoing she was.

"Joo are here to hone jour skills as a hunta!" This time she crossed her arms and _did_ look very irritated. She looked down on me. I was honestly beyond confused on how this troll felt about me. Was she going to teach me? Did I say something wrong? Was she really mad or just crazy?

"Jour gonna teach me, right?" I finally managed to say.

"Do ya see any otha hunta trainers around ere?"

"No, ma'am."

"Den joo already have da answer to ya question." She gave me another awkward smile then said, "Sit child." So we did. The two of us sat on our knees on the woven rugs under her tent. Jen'shan placed her hands on her lap and we began my lesson.

We must have been sitting there for hours. There was so much to learn from her. She was an amazing teacher; so full of experience and knowledge. The first thing she taught me was how to track beasts. She explained how it takes patience and a good sense of smell. The trick is to gain some clues such as footprints or droppings and follow the trail. She even said if I was able to in the near feature, a great idea would be to tame a pet which are always good for tracking other beasts. She drew different prints in the dirt and told me to tell her what type of creature it was. Sometimes they would even be demon prints which were a lot of fun to guess. When Jen'shan was content with my understanding on tracking and after she quizzed me a few times just to make sure I got it, we moved. Until I tamed a pet my prey would come after me. I showed her my bruises from the boars that I had hunted the day before. She examined them and told me to be more careful. She also said that we would be doing some dodging exercises as practice so I can be sure to sustain a minimal amount of damage when being attacked. It was all about agility. Stamina is a big part of it as well. I would need to learn how to evade and parry for a good amount of time. Then she brought up magic. Wait…magic? I'm a hunter, not some kind of warlock! I couldn't do magic…could I? That's where I was proven wrong. Jen'shan told me to hand her one of my arrows and so I did. She held it out straight in front of her with the head pointing up. She concentrated for a second and the arrow burst into blue flames. I jumped and staggered back a little. The fire didn't seem to be harming her at all.

"Wha ta naraka jis happened?!" I managed to say. She laughed and put her arm down and with that the fires went out.

"Dat, young one, waz da power of arcane magic," she gave me and extra large smile. "It tis true, we huntas can't do magic like mages or shamans, but all creatures have da capability to harness da power of some sort of magic, be it dark or light."

"But wat is it? Where does it come from?" I had so many questions. This was so exciting. I mean, I've seen some mages around here cast frost bolts and priests do some healing spells but I never knew I could harness that same power.

"Well, when da planet was young da great titans gave da power of arcane magic to da world. But it came with a large price. Dey placed the magic well in da centa of Kalimdor where da night elves soon discovered it and used it to uncover dark secrets. Their lust for power made dem beacons for da lords of da Twisting Nether. Which, if you don't already know, is a horrible place filled wif evil an demons." I nodded in curiosity as she continued "And dats how da Burning Legion came to be. So in short, we have da power to harness dis magic in order ta drive out what evil erupted from it, tanks ta dem vekkin' night elves and their human buddies who couldn't control et." She gave a quick sigh. "So child, in order to use arcane magic you must first learn da four laws."

"Magic has laws?" I asked. But what I really wanted to ask more about was the Twisting Nether. The thought of otherworldly dimensions fascinated me.

"Of course magic has laws! And you better have em memorized by da time I be done wit joo. So ere dey are. One. _Magic is powerful_. It can mean da difference between peon and king. It all depends on how ya use it. Keep dat in mind. Two. _Magic is corrupting_. It can turn da humblest person in'ta a monster if joo're not careful. Tree. _Magic is addicting_. Joo must resist da urge of castin' a spell right after the first. Dis power coursing trew joo're body leads to da desire of da evil fel energy. Moderation is key. And lastly, four. _Magic attracts the Twisting Nether like flies to honey_. Wielders of magic have ta deal wif demons. It's as simple as dat. Joo got all dat?"

I quickly nodded in affirmation but was eager to continue. "So when do I get ta use magic?"

Jen'shan gave a small chuckle. "You'll have ta save dat for anotha day. We should start cha other trainin' first."

I sighed. I was disappointed but realized were she was coming from. I hadn't used magic in my entire life and from what she told me, it wasn't something to be played around with. It's a serious thing to learn magic and I'd respect that. Plus it would be nice to start out with some simple training first. So we headed out for my first hunter lesson.

When we stood up to leave her tent I noticed Gronek gesturing for us to go over to him. When we got to him he gave a sign of greeting–by placing his fist on his chest– to Jen'shan before addressing me.

"I have another quest for you if you're up for it. I figured you might wanna accept seeing as you're working on your training," he said to me in his deep, gruff voice. I was actually wondering if what he really wanted was another favor.

"Sure, wa' da ya got?" I replied.

"We're running low on our supply of antidote for scorpid stings. You can find large numbers of those pests northwest of here. I want you to bring me a few of their tails. The antidote for their sting is actually made from venom extracted from their stingers. You know, we keep large quantities of antidote for scorpid venom on hand to heal young bloods just like you..." And with that he gave a deep bellied laugh with one of his brawny hands on my shoulder. I knew he was only joking but I was still a little worried.

Then Jen'shan chimed in. "Hey! Tha'd be great fo joo to practice joo're dodging wit!" Uhh…I hadn't really thought that my first evasion lesson would be with deadly scorpids. But I mean…I'm a hunter after all. This kind of thing runs in my blood, right? Plus I wasn't going to turn down anything that would help me with my training.

"I be glad ta help," I managed to say.

"I knew you would," Gronek replied. "You're just like your mother."

I smiled widely at that. My mom was brave and strong and one of the best hunters around. I liked the idea of being compared to her. I wouldn't let him or anyone else down.

So off we went to find the…poisonous scorpids…great. _This oughta be fun_. I thought to myself. I had my bow and I had my axe. Plus Jen'shan was here. I knew everything would be alright.

We stopped walking right on the outskirts of the village. The sun's rays beat down on us. It was an exceedingly hot day. You could even see the heat waves rising off the ground. Jen'shan nudged me with her elbow and told me to find my first prey. I looked around remembering my tracking instructions. I paused and looked around. I let any sound or aroma that filled the air, engulf me. I couldn't have been looking for more than a few seconds when she whispered she had found one. I would need to get faster at finding my clues. I saw boar tracks, a half eaten cactus apple a little ways ahead of us, a small tuft of rabbit fur that was caught on a lower spine of a cactus, and…scorpid tracks! _The pest must be close,_ I though. I followed the tracks with my eyes. They were hard to follow because they consisted only of six copper-piece-sized indents in the dirt. We walked for a little bit, following the trail. We passed a few mottled boars that scampered away as we approached, but we paid no attention to them. Just then I spotted the creature. How Jen'shan had seen this beast from way back where we started was beyond me. It was about three feet tall and four feet long. It was a similar color to the sand besides having a slight greenish tint to it. I wanted to rush right up to it before it could get away but I noticed it hadn't spotted me yet. We crouched behind a fairly large bolder which I could easily peak over to stalk my prey. I held my bow close to me and pulled out an arrow. Jen'shan was eyeing me with curiosity. I felt like her presence here was giving me more determination. I stood up slightly and nocked my arrow, making sure I was still unseen to the scorpid. It was walking slowly towards a sand dune so I had at act fast. I closed one eye, pulled the string back, aimed, and let the arrow fly right over the top of our hiding rock. It stuck the scorpid square in the side. The force caused it to fall off the dune and into a dried up watering hole. Jen'shan's reflexes were faster than mine so she was the first to spring. We sprinted over to where it had fallen to see that it was having a fit and making the worst hissing noises I had ever heard. I swiftly grabbed my axe and slid myself down to where the scorpid had fallen. They have very hard carapaces so the arrow had not killed. It was still ready for a fight. I had only made it angry. I took a swing at it before it could strike. I struck one of the creature's claws which took a nasty chip out of it. It hissed another terrible screech and snapped at me with its unwounded claw. I jumped back just in time to escape its counterattack.

"Common'!" I heard Jen'shan cheer from her safe spot atop the dune. "Parry da mutha'! Wa do joo tink we're doin' out here?! Hit it as it tries ta hit joo!"

"Tryin'!" I managed to reply as I evaded another claw attack. It quickly backed away and raised its tail. It was preparing to use its poison. It charged at me and I was ready this time. I successfully parried it tail off the edge of my blade. It made a harsh scraping sound as its stinger met the steel. As if it knew I was going to block it, it snapped at my legs with its useable claw. I was so startled I swung my axe down and caught the creature right on the head. It screeched even louder than it had before but I didn't let up on the force from my axe. It tried pitifully one last time to grab me but was unsuccessful. I had killed it.


	5. The Last Night

Chapter V

Jen'shan clapped. I stepped back from the creature's body, noticing that my heart had been racing. I looked at her and smiled. I was proud of my efforts. She took a small one-handed blade from its sheath and sliced the scorpid's tail clean off. It made a nasty cracking and squishing sound as she cut into it. She held the venomous tail out for me and I cautiously took it, wrapped it in spare linens that were in my bag, and dropped it in there.

It felt great to be doing something helpful for my village as I was gaining the experience of real fights and real hunting. Ever since I was small I had always wanted to be a great hunter and now I was actually taking steps towards that goal. I was killing more than just the occasional hare or lizard that crossed my path.

I knew that one tail would not be enough to make a substantial amount of the antidote so we climbed out of the dried watering hole and set out to find more of the creatures. It was not long before we found a nest of them a little ways away from the last kill. My dodging skills had certainly been challenged when two scorpids had charged at me at once. A parry here, a jump to the side there. It was starting to click.

We returned to the village just as the sun was beginning to set. The final rays of daylight shone bright red-orange off the cliff's dry clay walls surrounding our den. I hurriedly handed Gronek the pile of scorpid tails all neatly wrapped in cloth.

"We'll look at you!" He said happily in his gruff voice, handing the tails off to an assistant. "You're well on your way now aren't you?"

I nodded proudly. I turned to Jen'shan. I couldn't have done any of this without her coaching. She gave me a quick pat on the back as congratulations and headed back to her tent.

"I appreciate all the help you've been giving us lately," Gronek continued. "It's too bad you're heading out soon I was kinda' getting use to all this extra help. You know how these lazy peons are," he rolled his eyes. "You can never get much out of them."

I laughed to myself and rubbed my sore arm muscles.

Gronek slapped a hand down on my shoulder goodheartedly and nodded his head. We exchanged a gaze that spoke more than words could ever have. This orc had watched me grow up. He had watched me discover my talents and formulate my own goals. He wanted to see me succeed at becoming a strong individual and the hunter that I wanted to be. We both knew that I had always been a helpful member of our little society but I needed to do more. My full potential could not be unlocked by just helping feed and restock my village. The burning flame that had always inhabited my heart and soul was being fueled by my desire for adventure and knowledge. This yearning could no longer be ignored. There was only so much you could be taught through books and stories. I had to experience my own journey for myself.

When Gronek had lifted his hand from my shoulder the feeling really hit me: I was going to be out on my own. I wanted to head out as soon as possible but deep down I was going to miss everyone here, especially my mother. I rotated my shoulders as I looked down at my feet. Keeping a straight expression on my face to hide my true emotions, I looked back up at Gronek.

"I guess I'll be leavin' in da mornin'," I said with a slight hit of uneasiness in my voice. I wanted to continue with my training here, with the people that I loved, but I knew that there was only so much they could teach me.

Gronek nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Of course. I'll have some supplies prepared for you for when you're ready."

"Tanks so much." I managed a small smile.

"It's the least I could do for being such a great help. Plus you'll need all the provisions you can get." He gave a large tusky smile and waved me off. "Go eat. Get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow."

I smiled back and nodded. I thanked him again and went off to find my mother. She had been chatting with two females that I recognized. The three of them were sitting around a small fire pit to the left of the entrance to the den. I walked up to them and stood behind my mother, not wanting to interrupt. To my mom's right was a short female orc named Shikrik. She had her dark brown hair in two short, high pigtails, and she wore the traditional tan robes of a shaman with a club attached to her belt. She had grey-green skin and her face although stern did not show any sign of aggression.

To my mother's left was another troll female. That was Mai'ah the mage. She had sky blue skin and the reddest hair I had ever seen which she kept half up in a high ponytail and half down to hang over her shoulders. Her attire for the evening was an elaborate purple robe with gold trim. Her face had very hard features and her tusks were sharp and twisted but she was still relatively good-looking.

My mom turned around and patted the ground next to her with a smile, telling me to join them. I sat down and was immediately handed a plate of tough bread and mutton by Shikrik. I thanked her and dug right in.

"I be leavin' tomorrow mum," I said with a mouth full of food, not sure how else to break it to her.

Surprisingly enough I found her smiling widely at me. "Joo'll be fine my baby," she said. "I believe dat joo can do anyting joo set your mind to. You're me daughter. You're a strong girl."

I knew that she was going to miss me but she knew just as well as I did that it was time for me to become my own troll. I loved my mom for all the support she had given me.

The four of us sat around the cozy fire until there were nothing left but glowing embers. The sky was filled with stars and everyone else had moved into the den for the night. My mother and I said good night to the others and went off to our rooms.

We walked down the narrow and dimly lit corridor feeling the cool stone under our feet. We passed a handful of patrolling guards who nodded as we walked by. When I reached my door my mother gently grabbed my hand. She looked down at me without saying a word and hugged me. I hugged her back, closing my eyes, and feeling her warmth. She kissed me on the forehead and said goodnight.

I walked through the door flap and placed my backpack and my weapons on the floor. I sat on the edge of my bed and dropped my clothes in a pile. I crawled under my covers and squeezed my eyes shut. Sleep would not come easily to me that night.

My dreams the night before I left my home were almost as terrifying as the one I had on the night of my birthday. It started off with the same waste lands as these nightmares usually consisted of. Clips and flashes of withered corpses with wiry black hair rising out of the ground were plaguing my vision. They growled and mumbled to themselves as they lumbered about the scorched remains of a small town, searching for any deceased citizens to feast upon. Ashes drifted up towards the darkened sky. The scene flickered between complete darkness and the shattered village. A lone figure could be seen standing at the edge of the town; a long billowing cloak hid their features. All that could be seen from under the cover of their hood was a pair of menacing, glowing blue eyes. Then just as quickly as the figure had flashed into my sight it vanished, leaving behind an eerie gray mist. I could hear the echoing of maniacal laughter throughout my psyche. I was left staring at the ruined town. The ground below me began to shake as a small crack began to form in the dirt by my feet. In an instant a fissure had split the ground before me. It wasn't until I felt a tight pressure around my leg that I looked down. I tried to let out a shriek but nothing came out. A decomposing hand had a tight grasp on my ankle; its boney fingers digging into my skin. I tried to shake it off to no avail. I panicked. As I twisted and turned to see if there was some method of escape, more and more undead came from the ground and began grabbing my legs, rendering me motionless. I tried to cry out again but still my voice seemed to be muted. I strained as they pulled me to the ground, the laughing still echoing in my ears. I hit the ground hard, forcing me to wake from my nightmare.


End file.
